Is it possible to have restriction without having a fill. I was banded on Oct 24. I started mushies yesterday. I expected to have to really watch my portions, but I can eat very little. Last night I ate a couple bites of grits and 1/2 of a soft scrambled egg and was very full. Today for lunch I ate 1/4 cups of tuna with 1/2 tablespoon ff mayonaisse. Again, I am very full. I burp a little after I eat, but no BP, no nausea, no knot in my chest. Nothing like that. I am just full after eating very little.

These servings are what I expect to be able to eat from now on, so I am cautiously optimistic. I have the ap small band which my doc says already has almost 3cc of saline in it. It would be way to good to think I could reach my sweet spot without fills wouldn't it???

You can definitely have restriction without a fill. It just depends on your body. With that being said, your 3 ccs probably are making a world of difference. You are lucky. Just make sure you get in your protein if you are only eating 1/4 cup of food. I always start my day with a protein shake because of that. Good luck.

Hey some can do it for a while without a fill. Just keep going, you are doing good! Don't worry about it until you start being able to eat more and gaining weight. Once you body heals and you start solids you might start gaining, some people even start gaining on mushies, but it is absolutely possible to not have a fill and have good restriction with the band alone.

In the beginning you can eat very little. It is due to the swelling. This is a good time to try and adjust to small meals since you will not have much of an appetite. My Dr. calls it practice for the real thing which will come when you have a fill. It has been just over 2 weeks for me and I still can't eat that much.

I drink an unjury shake each morning to get protein. I am learning to really pay close attention to that. My dh was laughing at me in the grocery store last night. I would look at something and say, "No, that costs too much" He finally asked why I was so worried about what everything costs. I told him too many calories, not enough protein. He thought I was talking $. We both had a good laugh at that. I am so encourage to think that I may not have to go through bandster hell before my first fill!!! I am actually scheduled for my first fill on November 20. If I still get full this quickly will my doc just wait on the fill until I feel hungry. I also wonder if I am getting full so easily now due to post op swelling that hasn't gone down completely.

Thanks so much for yall's responses and encouragement.

Shirley,

I just realized that you were banded by Dr Babineau in Tyler. I actually live about 1 hour north of Tyler in Pittsburg. I was going to use Dr Babineau but Dr Querry came to Pittsburg, so I used her since she is local. I am a nurse at ETMC Pittsburg. Small world.

Renewedhope, yes, you are swollen right now. If you aren't losing 1-2 lbs a week and you are really hungry you should get a fill. Some people are lucky and can lose on 1 cup of food without a fill. Others are not. Good luck.

I am only 1 week out, but I have lost 12 pounds in the past week. I know that will slow down greatly, but I am enjoying it for now. That puts my weight loss since starting the preop diet at 25 pounds. I can only eat about 1/4 cup of mushies for now.

Yes a small world indeed! And I am so happy I found Dr. Babineau. My surgery was at ETMC Tyler which I was very happy with. If you don't have a support group meeting to attend he offers one once a month at the hospital. I have not attended yet but plan to next month.

There is one in Mt Pleasant (10 minutes away). I haven't gone yet, but I thought about it. Looking forward to watching your progress.

My wife and I had restriction for about about 10 days after surgery. Once the swelling and ajustments to the band in the body went down we noticed that we needed a fill. Even after the 1stt fill we noticed about a week later we were ready for another fill.

Chris

That makes good sense. Thanks so much.